The most famous Church reformer in Scottish history, Knox’s life and work also possess a much wider international significance. A controversial figure in his lifetime and beyond, Knox has been alternatively vilified and celebrated, but remains one of the most enigmatic figures in British history. His literary influence is considerable – renowned for his religious zeal and inflammatory rhetoric, Knox’s central literary technique is a strategy of polarisation. For Knox, Catholicism is false, immoral and worldly; Protestantism is true, virtuous and heavenly. Such a schematic vision of the world is by no means uncommon in sixteenth-century rhetoric; what distinguishes Knox, however, is both the strictness of the adherence to this system of thought, and the vehemence with which it is…
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Citation: Coleman, David. "John Knox". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 31 May 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2546, accessed 21 November 2024.]
